Cricket: Blackcaps star Jimmy Neesham only Kiwi bought in IPL auction

Blackcaps star Jimmy Neesham was the only Kiwi to secure a contract at the 2020 Indian Premier League auction.

The all-rounder was one of 18 current and former Blackcaps to enter the auction, but he was the only one sold for his base price of 50 lakh rupees (NZ $107,000) to the Kings XI Punjab.

Martin Guptill, Colin Munro, Tim Southee (NZ$214,000 reserve), Corey Anderson, Colin de Grandhomme, Ish Sodhi (NZ$160,000) and Doug Bracewell, Tom Bruce, Matt Henry, Anaru Kitchen, Scott Kuggeleijn, Tom Latham, Adam Milne, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Tim Seifert, Blair Tickner (NZ$107,000) went unsold. 

Fellow Blackcaps Lockie Ferguson (Kolkata Knight Riders), Mitchell McClenaghan and Trent Boult (Mumbai Indians), Kane Williamson (Sunrisers Hyderabad), Mitchell Santner (Chennai Super Kings) were all retained by their respective clubs last month, with Boult traded from Delhi Capitals to Mumbai.

Former Blackcaps captains Stephen Fleming and Brendon McCullum coach the Super Kings and Knights Riders respectively, while former NZ coach Mike Hesson is in charge of Royal Challengers Bangalore.

Meanwhile, Australian paceman Australian Patrick Cummins became the most expensive overseas player in the history of the tournament.

Cummins was signed by McCullum's Knight Riders for NZ$3.29 million, eclipsing the NZ$3 million fee Rajasthan Royals paid for England superstar Ben Stokes in 2017.

Afterwards, McCullum tweeted that Cummins should sit out the rest of the test series against the Blackcaps to prepare for the upcoming IPL season. 

The 13th IPL season will begin on April 1, with Mumbai Indians defending their title.

Top-earning players taken in the 2020 IPL auction:

Pat Cummins (Australia) NZ$3.29m

Glenn Maxwell (Australia) NZ$2.3m

Chris Morris (South Africa) NZ$2.12m

Sheldon Cottrell (West Indies) NZ$1.8m

Nathan Coulter-Nile (Australia) $NZ1.7m